Selene Gallio, Black Queen of the Hellfire
by King Henry the V
Summary: Reimagination of the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club for the MDR, Marvel Done Right. This is officially the third story in the series.


Disclaimer: This is the third story in a series I have subtitled "MDR" (Marvel Done Right). The series will mostly use canon characters with a new spin, though a few originals will appear. Marvel Comics owns the copyrights, and special thanks to the Cody, Monster of Cookies.

For two thousand years she had maintained the illusion that was Nova Roma. Even though the Roman Empire only lasted a fraction of that time, Rome's only colony in South America existed until the end of the 20th Century of the Gregorian calendar. Then Charles Xavier had come and broken the spell that kept the Nova Romans loyal to the ruling Senator. Nova Roma's surviving citizens were now forced to integrate with Western Civilization.

That fool, Xavier, and his ideals. He genuinely thought that Selene had maintained Nova Roma so that she could play the role of petty ruler. Senator Gallio, Selene's husband, had been far from a figure-head, but she could not say they married for love. And then Xavier took the only thing of hers that mattered, her whole reason for creating Nova Roma in the first place: family.

Amara Aquilla, Selene's granddaughter, was Gifted. That was enough reason for Xavier to take her away from Nova Roma, shattering the magical web Selene had weaved over the entire colony in the process. If only her plan to fake Amara's death had worked! But no. Now she had no choice but to go back into the open world that had treated her so inconsistently in the past. It was time for the Daughter of the Moon, the Black Priestess, the Sorceress Selene to confront what she had hidden from for two thousand years. And maybe, just maybe she would be able to reclaim more than she had lost.

Xxxxx, xxxxX

(One Year Later)

Hellfire Club Mansion: Manhattan, NY

The mansion stood between two standard apartment buildings. It belonged in England or off on Long Island somewhere, not on Manhattan's East Side. Shadows covered the mansion and blocked off all daylight in a way that was almost supernatural. Completely out of place within its environment, yet with a dark beauty all its own. It gave off the impression of an eerie sort of wealth that Selene found somehow fitting.

She walked towards the gate with a grace and elegance that came with millennia of practice. Anyone who watched would have been disturbed to see the gate open itself as Selene approached and lock behind her. When she arrived at the door, she did not so much as raise a hand to the knocker. That, too, moved on its own, alerting Selene's presence to those within.

Someone hesitantly answered the door. An older man with silvered hair and a too-sharp tuxedo stood with a judgmental expression on his face. It was as if Selene's gown, which had a price tag higher than most automobiles, were mere rags. She was not a member of his club, so she was immediately deigned trash.

"Yes, madam?" The butler even raised an eyebrow, letting her know that he only called her 'madam' because he was required by his station.

A single look fixed the butler in his tracks. As self-important as he thought he was, the butler was simply human. Her grey eyes held no menace, but in them he could see hints of her power. He tried to swallow down his fear.

"Rutledge." Selene said the butler's name with her own measure of contempt. "Tell your masters that the Lady Selene has arrived with invitation from the Pierce Family." There was a deeper meaning to Selene's words, one that Rutledge understood. It was through manipulation of the Pierce Family that the current 'masters' had gained power. Only a powerful Gifted could another gain their favor. The butler's fear was reinforced to the point that he felt a pressure against his bladder wall.

"Yes, of course," Rutledge told her in a voice that walk almost a stutter. "Please enter, Lady Selene." He opened the door wider and stepped aside, offering her entry with a slight bow and polite hand motion.

Selene kept her head held high as she walked inside. Her behavior was far from a show. This was Selene's regal self, and only a suicidal man would presume she was anything but what she claimed.

After he closed the door, Rutledge rushed to Selene's side. "If you will allow me, Lady Selene, to show you the Salon while you wait."

She responded with a silent, sidelong glance, which he took to mean she consented. He did his best to hide the tremor in his knees all the way to their destination. Selene had no need to evaluate his courage or behavior; she had known everything significant about him the moment of their first contact. Rutledge was a loyal servant who feared his masters, and he was intelligent enough to know that Selene might soon be among their number.

The Salon was what passed for elegance in the Western World. There were densely-packed bookcases, works of art on the walls, a few scattered sculptures on pedestals, and hand-made furniture that was at least a hundred years old. None of it impressed her.

"Pour me a glass of red wine," she commanded, watching Rutledge obey with an eye while she sat comfortably in an armchair.

He was presented the image of true royalty when he handed her the wineglass. She sat with such perfect posture that the armchair seemed almost a throne. Even a blind man would have known that there was about to be a great shift of power. "Please excuse me, Lady Selene, while I fetch the Lords Cardinal."

His frequency of the word 'please' boded well for Selene. It meant underlings knew their proper place, even though the United States boasted of 'equality.' Perhaps Selene had found a proper home after all.

Four people barged into the room, three men and a woman. They were all dressed in clothing that matched at least the price of Selene's own, though none had her elegance. Their apparent leader was a dark-haired man in a black suit: Sebastian Shaw, according to Selene's sources. He was the only one who had an air of fury.

Shaw's politician-nature immediately made itself evident when he spoke without any of his true feelings. "Selene. Mr. Pierce tells me that you are here on his invitation."

"Lady Selene," she corrected, with the sort of patience reserved for small children. There were few people on Earth who did not fit into the category of "child" in her mind. Her current hosts had to earn any respect.

"My apologies, 'Lady' Selene." Even though he was an adept politician, Selene did not need Gifts to see through his mask. Shaw knew nothing about her and he wanted her gone. "Mr. Pierce extended his invitation without properly discussing the matter. I apolo–" It was in the middle dismissing her that he noted the air of the room. He was not meeting a guest in the Salon of his own home, but he had instead been granted an audience with Selene. She appeared a queen, and Shaw wondered if Mr. Pierce had not been premature after all.

"I will not speak with anyone who does not properly introduce themselves," Selene told the four Lords Cardinal, even though she knew exactly who they were.

Shaw was not the kind of man to be easily intimidated; he only thought of others in how they could be used to his own benefits. Selene's demeanor momentarily impressed him, though he was too much of an egoist to see Selene for what she really was. "Forgive me, Lady Selene," he said in his most polite tone. "My name is Sebastian Shaw, Black King of the Inner Circle." He turned to the only woman among them. "This enchanting lady is Ms. Emma Frost, the White Queen." The next man introduced was prematurely grey with a short-cropped beard. "May I also introduce Harry Leland, Black Bishop, and you already know Donald Pierce, the White Bishop." Ah, yes. Donald Pierce, the weak-minded puppet who was in over his head. Selene would need to get rid of him. "We are the Lords Cardinal, the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club." With that formality out of the way, Shaw crossed his arms. He pretended not to notice his rudeness. "Now, what is it you want, Lady Selene?"

She allowed a slight smirk, though she was far from amused. These games tended to bore her more often than not. The next steps were what interested her most, and hopes for a future motivated her to continue.

A foreign presence at the edges of her mind made Selene wary. She identified the source of the other woman, the surgically-enhanced blonde named Emma Frost. So Ms. Frost was a telepath, Selene discovered. One with enough power to equal Selene's own telepathy, though Emma almost certainly lacked Selene's other Gifts. Emma was denied entrance to Selene's mind.

"I have come to join your 'Inner Circle,'" she told them without preamble. There was no reason to hide her goals.

The Lords Cardinal took up positions around the room, and all of a sudden the audience became an interview. "Why should we consider you?" asked Leland.

Selene looked his way with the slightest turn of her head. He was intelligent and confident in his power, perhaps more so than Shaw himself. The reason Leland was only Bishop to Shaw's cardinal was the difference in ambition. Perhaps Leland would make a decent ally. "Because you need to maintain an even number of Lords Cardinal, and three of you intended to eject the other within the week."

Three of the Lords Cardinal became wary at her nonchalant response, while the fourth scoffed in disbelief. He even started to express just what he thought of Selene's answer when he noted the expressions on their faces. No one answered the questions he began to ask.

"So you intend to be the next White Bishop of the Inner Circle?" Leland was only curious about their guest, but Shaw had already begun to formulate plans within plans. This time Pierce loudly objected to a room that ignored his presence.

"No title short of Black Queen would be suitable for a woman such as Lady Selene, my dear Harry," Shaw said in his most politic voice. He then flashed Selene with a great smile that was intended to win her over. "Of course, before you can be awarded a place in the Inner Circle, you will need to prove yourself."

Selene saw the glint in his eye and new exactly what he meant. The man was a bit of a pig, but no worse than Senator Gallio. The thought of going to bed with a man for the same reasons still disgusted her. This time, however, she had more options than marriage. "Of course. Once Mr. Pierce is dismissed, I will tell you exactly why I am indispensable to your plans for the future."

It did not take long for Rutledge to be summoned and Pierce to be forcibly ejected from the Hellfire Club Mansion – permanently. They were all too eager to hear what a woman with Selene's quick insights had in mind. As the meeting went on, only Emma had any idea of what they were dealing with. Selene sensed a growing fear in the blonde and wondered if a subtler approach would have been wiser. She had not come to the Hellfire Club to find servants.


End file.
